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Antoine Griezmann was guilty of a shocking penalty miss on Wednesday in Barcelona‘s shootout win over Real Sociedad in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup.
The World Cup winner blazed his effort high over the crossbar and will have been a relieved man to see team-mates Miralem Pjanic, Ousmane Dembele, and Riqui Puig convert their penalties to secure a 3-2 win after the game had finished 1-1 after extra-time.
Griezmann’s effort was the butt of jokes after the match, as fans speculated where the ball had ended up, but the Frenchman seems to have taken the teasing in good heart by liking some of the best efforts on Twitter.
On a apperçu le penalty de Griezmann
Jumbo le pingouin d’antarctique à retrouvé le ballon du peno de Griezmann
Barcelona’s win sets up a Super Cup final on Sunday against either Real Madrid or Athletic. The two La Liga rivals meet on Thursday in Malaga.
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Another Assist for Griezmann
Griezmann may have missed his spot-kick but he did grab an assist after teeing up Frenkie de Jong to make it 1-0 in the first half. The assist was Griezmann’s fifth of the season in all competitions.
Mikel Oyarzabal went on to equalize from the penalty spot after the break which forced the game into penalties. Yet it was not a complete surprise to see Griezmann miss frrom the spot given his recent record.
Antoine Griezmann’s last four penalties for club and country:
❌
❌
❌
❌
That stinks.
Lionel Messi is Barcelona’s usual penalty-taker but missed the match due to injury, and it’s not clear yet if the captain will be fit in time for Sunday’s final in Seville.
Koeman Praises Team After Win
Coach Ronald Koeman was happy with his team’s victory, which makes it nine games without defeat in all competitions, and praised his players for their effort, as reported by AS.
First, I am very proud of this team, because if you count all the missing players we have in this moment, I think it is important to have people behind who can help. I think today we fulfilled in every way I know Real Sociedad had their chances like us. We just managed to win after the penalties.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen helped spare Griezmann’s blushes in the shootout by saving two of Real Sociedad’s penalties, while 21-year-old midfielder Riqui Puig scored the decisive spot-kick. Koeman also singled both players out for praise after the victory.
Of course to win on the penalties you must have a great goalkeeper, because Marc has stopped the first three penalties of Real and it is an important step regarding our possibilities to win. Also, I think Riqui has the personality to take the responsibility to shoot the fifth penalty. It was important to score and reach the final.
Koeman now has the chance to lift his first trophy since taking over as Barcelona manager on Sunday. The Catalan giants have won the Spanish Super Cup 13 times in their history, more than any other club, but have not lifted the trophy since 2018 under previous boss Ernesto Valverde.
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